Ryan Lochte Opens Up About ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Protesters

On Monday night, Ryan Lochte made his debut on Dancing With the Stars. However, his performance was marred by what came after: during his judging critique, protesters rushed the stage, causing the camera to focus away from the Olympian and partner Cheryl Burke while security removed the men.

Lochte was shaken by the incident, but it seems he’s back in high spirits. He took to Twitter to post a message of thanks to his fans for their concern and support. Despite the self-orchestrated hardships he’s been undergoing, related to his fabricating having been robbed during the Rio 2016 Olympics, he’s been “overwhelmed” by the amount of support his fans have actually shown him. As it turns out, the protesters might just represent a minority of people who feel anger towards Lochte, rather than representing the new norm for his public image. Check out the message below:

Looks like Lochte is gradually rehabbing his public image. Gonestly, I anticipated he’d have a hard time on Dancing With the Stars, since his fall from grace was so recent. But the controversy surrounding his performance on Monday could end up drumming up sympathy for him, at least enough of it to allow him to survive next Monday’s eliminations. Then again, who knows? Maybe he would have gotten a ton of votes anyway. It’s hard to truly gauge how popular someone is until they’re put through the ringer, so to speak.